Moving from Germany to Cyprus with Family

[Gurbics]

Dear all,

I am working at Wargaming in Berlin and currently have the opportunity to move to Nicosia, Cyprus to lead a team and several projects. It would be a great salary increase, but I am hesitant to move away from Germany as I have only lived in Germany and this would be a big leap into the unknown. Also, I have a 4 year old son and I a married so we would be moving together. My husband is a programmer, so he can work remotely. I have a few questions about life and apartment sell/buy in Cyprus:

• We are evaluating the option of the purchase of a 3 room apartment rather than renting
  • How easy to find such an apartment around this area?
  • How safe is this area? Or is there any district which you would call not so safe for a family?
  • During the purchase/sale what extra costs (tax, notary cost, provision etc?) are there and who bears those costs?
  • According to this the apartment prices are increasing (although not covering the inflation), what is the future prognoses of apartment prices?

• What are the laws on self employment?

• What social insurances are included in the taxes? Can anyone recommend a salary calculator that gives a detailed description and breakdown of gross-net salary, similar to this German salary calculator.

• Is my family also covered by my health insurance? Is the health insurance system in Cyprus similar to the German health system?

• how easy is it to do the paperwork in the office and in everyday life without knowing the language?

• How easy is it for a foreigner who speaks only English and German to live in Cyprus?

• Are there any German or English day care and how easy to find a place there?

• What other difficulties can we have with a child?

Regards,
Kristina

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Kristina and welcome to the forum

I've had a quick look at apartments for sale in Nicosia near the Wargaming HQ. There's are three 2-bed apartments selling for €230,000, €250,000 and €305,000 and a 4-bed penthouse selling for €420,000. (There will be more in the area - I only looked at one site.)

Cyprus is a safe place for you and your children.

Additional costs will include legal fees (say €2,000) that you will need to pay. And there's a transfer tax, which is based on the value of the property - you can find a calculator at What are the rates of transfer fees in Cyprus, who pays and how they are calculated?.

According to official statistics, 257 properties in the Nicosia district have been bought by non-Cypriots this year. Cyprus is encouraging foreign companies to establish themselves in Cyprus and it's likely that demand for properties will increase.

I can't help you with employment or social insurance. (I retired here 20 years ago and therefore don't pay.)

No problems only speaking English & German. I have a (very) little Greek and most people, particularly in business speak English. There used to be 2 German citizens in my Rotary club - they had no language problems.

Nicosia can get very hot in the summer from mid-June to mid/end September. It's usually in the mid to upper 30s and can hit 40C on occasions.

Have you looked at the German government website? The UK government website has pages of information for Brits moving to and living and working in Cyprus. It's possible that German site will have information on healthcare, social insurance, etc.

Regards,

[Gurbics]

Dear Nigel,

Thank you for the tips. Contacting to the German embassy is a good idea, thank you for that.

Regards,
K.